2014 Mitsubishi Mirage drive review

September 30, 2013

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What is it?

The 2014 Mitsubishi Mirage is an all-new city car that is the smallest and cheapest vehicle the Japanese automaker plans to sell in the U.S. It is built in Thailand and offered in a variety of Skittles-like colors, including kiwi green, plasma purple, “infrared” and sapphire blue, along with the conventional black, white and silver. It is equipped with a frugal 1.2-liter I3 engine kicking out a mighty 74 hp. Buyers can choose between a five-speed manual transmission or a CVT. Its interior is basic but well-equipped, especially for the price. It knows it isn't about speed, handling or luxury. It doesn't care.

And that's about it.

The <a data-cke-saved-href="http://autoweek.com/article/car-news/2014-mitsubishi-mirage-pricing-starts-13720" "="" href="http://autoweek.com/article/car-news/2014-mitsubishi-mirage-pricing-starts-13720" a="" www.autoweek.com="" article="" carnews="">Mirage is basic point A-to-point B transportation -- something Mitsubishi has never been anything but clear about. Its task is simple and straightforward: Offer both cash-strapped millennials and empty-nest boomers the opportunity to enjoy that new-car smell. More importantly, Mitsubishi intends to make the Mirage cost-competitive with lower-priced used cars by offering generous warranties and, of course, excellent fuel economy.

That fuel economy will go a long way toward selling the package. Mitsubishi calls the Mirage the “most fuel-efficient gasoline-powered non-hybrid vehicle in America;” behind that mouthful of qualifiers sits an impressive set of EPA ratings: 34 city/42 highway/37 combined for the five-speed manual car, and 37 city/44 highway/40 combined for the more-efficient CVT drivetrain.

Along with fuel economy, the Mirage's sticker price will be one of the chief factors luring potential buyers into showrooms. When equipped with a five-speed manual, the little city car starts at $13,790 (including the $795 delivery fee); a CVT adds $1,000.

The base “DE” model gets staples like power side mirrors and tilt steering. It also gets a number of standard goodies that other automakers' stripped models, which might sticker for a few thousand less (looking at you, 2014 Nissan Versa S), don't get -- features like automatic climate control, a 60/40 split-folding rear seat and power windows. This is Mitsubishi's play to make the Mirage stand out as a value buy.

The upmarket “ES” trim, which ads $1,200 to the price, adds push-button start, keyless entry, a Bluetooth hands-free phone system, cruise control and 14-inch alloy wheels. Must-haves like a navigation system/rear camera package add to the cost, but a fully loaded Mirage can be had for around $17,000. Though that might seem like a lot to pay for a car like the Mirage, Mitsubishi expects sales to be more or less evenly split between the basic DE models and the higher-end ES models.

Quebec City might seem like an odd place to give us a taste of the Mirage, but its narrow streets were a good place to test its agility. Photo by Mitsubishi

What's it like to drive?

When a company higher-up kicks off a new vehicle launch with the caveat that the car “is not about any performance,” you're never really sure what to expect. But that's exactly what Mitsubishi executive vice president Masatoshi Hasegawa said shortly before tossing us keys to the new Mirage and turning us loose on the streets of Quebec City.

Once we got inside our bright green, five-speed equipped tester (we drove the CVT-equipped model later), we were greeted by a clean but minimalistic interior. Cloth seats lacked the infinite degrees of adjustability we've grown accustomed to, but they remained comfortable during our several hours in the car. Mitsubishi seems to have taken a page out of the Mazda playbook where spartan dashboard design is concerned -- hard-wearing black plastics abound, but we enjoyed the easy-to-use knob-and-button layout.

We suspected the 74-hp engine (18 fewer hp than the Mirage packed last time it appeared in the U.S.) to be disappointing, but the free-revving three-cylinder had no trouble happily pulling the one-ton car along. It didn't even complain audibly (well, not too audibly) when we stomped on the pedal to overtake, and its buzz didn't intrude the cabin unbearably at expressway speeds. The CVT-equipped car requires a bit more prodding to reach cruising velocity than its five-speed counterpart, but the former transmission is probably the way to go if you plan on using the Mirage primarily in urbanized areas.

There were compromises, though: The car's 15.1-foot-turning radius bests just about anything aside from the Scion iQ and Smart Fortwo, but the electric-steering system offers virtually no feedback. Welcome on the tight, European-like city streets of Quebec City, that light-but-precise steering didn't firm up all that much at highway speeds. Suspension was soft, providing a tolerable ride over cobblestones but turning the sweeping, narrow corners of the Ile d'Orleans into a series of uncertain propositions when taken at speed.

Yet actual shortcomings were few. We're not sure if the average buyer will care about the precise-if-numb electric steering, but the manual-equipped cars would benefit greatly from a hill-start-assist feature, something the hilly city streets made abundantly clear. On a related note, the clutch pedal was laughably light; we're sure the left leg of anyone who attempts to operate a manual in city traffic will enjoy this, but the inability to feel the point of clutch engagement will frustrate anyone with an enthusiast bone in their body.

In short, the Mirage is a car that doesn't over-promise and doesn't under-deliver. But it doesn't really over-deliver, either -- it's adequate, earnest transportation for the masses.

The Mirage's 1.2-liter I3 engine produces just 74 hp -- but remember that the tiny car starts at under one ton. Photo by Mitsubishi

2014 Mitsubishi Mirage

Do I want one?

Probably not, and Mitsubishi is OK with that. By design, the cheap-but-honest Mirage simply doesn't offer much for enthusiasts to bite on. Mitsubishi North America manager of product planning Bryan Arnett says he would like to see a slightly edgier Mirage -- perhaps with tighter suspension and a few extra horsepower courtesy of a turbocharger -- but we suspect a raw Mitsubishi Micro-Evolution isn't in the cards.

Still, the automaker has set its North American sales goals for the Mirage at an attainable 7,000 units/year. If all goes according to plan, it will serve as a low-cost introduction to the brand for both younger and older buyers. A five year/60,000 mile basic warranty and 10 year/100,000 mile powertrain coverage might help steer shoppers away from the used-car lot.

It's neither as sporty as the Mazda 2 nor as flashy inside as the Spark, but the Mirage competes well with other city cars where its price, fuel economy and slate of standard features are concerned. If Mitsubishi can inform the public about the Mirage's existence and draw prospective buyers into showrooms, we wouldn't be surprised if they're able to beat their modest sales predictions.

MSRP

$12,995

MPG

34 / 42

Graham Kozak
- Graham Kozak drove a 1951 Packard 200 sedan in high school because he wanted something that would be easy to find in a parking lot. He thinks all the things they're doing with fuel injection and seatbelts these days are pretty nifty too.
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